Weekend Reading

Sorry for the slower posting this week. I’ve been on the road and very busy. So busy in fact that I didn’t even get to watch my Giants beat up on Detroit in the World Series! Notwithstanding the monumental scale of that injustice, I have managed to find some time this morning to catch up on the news and, in addition, I have some research for your weekend reading. Enjoy.

First, here’s today’s news:

- Norway’s Government Pension Fund-Global has formalized its re-balancing strategy.

- Pensions and sovereign fund are offering loans to companies where banks no longer can. These regulation driven investment opportunities for institutional investors seem to be popping up in a few places.

- The fast-growing Legacy Fund is becoming a topic of debate ahead of North Dakota’s elections.

- If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Commission and the Super Fund ... and, let’s be honest, who hasn’t ... then read on.

- Colorado’s PERA is launching a $50 million local venture fund, which will invest directly in local firms alongside other VCs.

- Here’s quite an interesting article on France’s CDC. The main question of the article (“What is the CDC really?”) remains a unresolved even by the end, but I at least have a clearer picture of this organization than I did before.

- Australia’s Future Fund is reportedly reconsidering its tobacco investments.

- The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are part of a consortium acquiring three big retail assets in Australia.

- The China Investment Corporation continues to build out its London real estate portfolio.

- It looks like Texas Teachers Retirement System did in fact end up investing $200 million in F1.

- And, on the same motorsports theme, CPPIB has purchased a 39 percent stake in Dorna Sports, which runs MotoGP.

- Qatar is rumored to be in negotiations to invest in seven different suffering European banks.

Second, here’s some research for your weekend reading enjoyment.

- Earlier this week my colleagues and I at Stanford released a new working paper on “Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Delivery”. If, like me, you’re keen to find creative ways to resolve the infrastructure funding gap in the United States and around the world, I’d recommend reading it. If not, go fly a kite.

Enjoy your weekend!